not alone. while we may not have had heat in our homes, our hearts have been warmed by the outpouring of support, generosity and love from people all across the nation. people from across the country have joined us, have donated, sent food and we want to say a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of them. and he met say, mr. president, thank you to you because you have exemplified the spirit of partnership and the spirit of community. i was personally amazed and touched by your phone calls and attention even during times that were very, very busy. you were there for us. you were there for new york. and we thank you, mr. president. and together, mr. president, we will not just rebuild new york. we will build back better than ever before. ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states.

>> thank you so much, everybody. i'm going to be relatively brief. i came up here right after the storm. was on the jersey side. and i had promised to everybody that i was speaking on behalf of the country when i said we are going to be here until the rebuilding is complete. and i meant it. so i'm going to come back today but i'm also going to be coming back in the future to make sure that we have followed through on that commitment. i want to thank the outstanding leadership that's been provided by state and local officials. obviously, governor cuomo and mayor bloomberg have done an outstanding job. to borough president, thank you so much for your leadership at a time when the folks here on this

island were obviously going through extraordinarily difficult times. the people of long island who are going through really tough times. across the board what we have seen is cooperation and a spirit of service and, you know, for the first responder who is are here, the police officers, the firefighters, the ems folks, the sanitation workers who sometimes don't get credit, but have done heroic work, we are so grateful to you because you exemplify what america's all about. i'm grateful to the red cross who's been so responsive not just here but in disasters around the country and i want to thank all the volunteers. as we were shaking hands over there, we had folks from every part of the country. we had some canadians who had come down to help out. and, you know, during difficult times like this, we're reminded that we are bound together and we have to look out for each other. and a lot of the things that

seem important, the petty differences melt away and we focus on what binds us together and that we as americans are going to stand with each other in their hour of need. now, more specifically, we are now still in the process of recovery. as you can see as you travel around parts of staten island, as we flew over parts of other parts of the city and the region that had been impacted, there's still a lot of cleanup to do. people still need emergency help. they still need heat. they still need power. they still need food. they still need shelter. kids are still trying to figure out where they're going to go to school. so there's a lot of short-term immediate stuff that has to be dealt with and we are going to make sure that we stay here as long as people need that immediate help. that's fema's primary task. we'll be coordinating closely

with state and local governments to make sure folks are getting the short-term help and heard there's long-term building that's required. you look at this block. and you know that this is a community that is deeply rooted, you know, most of the folks i met here have been here 20, 30, 50 years. they don't want to see their community uprooted. but there's got to be a plan for rebuilding. and that plan's going to be to have to be coordinated and resources. so what i have committed to doing is work with the outstanding congressional delegation led by your senators chuck schumer and christin gil brand a gillibrand and trying to come up with a game plan for how we're going to be able to resource the rebuilding process. and i'm confident as governor cuomo said that we can do it. but it requires everybody focus

on getting the job done. we're going to have to put some of the turf battles aside. we have to make sure that everybody's focused on doing the job. as opposed to worrying about who's getting the credit or who's getting the contracts or all that stuff that sometimes goes in to the rebuilding process. on the federal level, because this is such a big job, i want to assign one particular person who would be in charge from our perspective. who would be our point person because fema basically runs the recovery process. it doesn't focus on the rebuilding. for that, we've got to have all government agencies involved. janet napolitano has done a great job but we thought we would have a new yorker to be the point person and so our outstanding hud secretary sean donovan who used to be the head of the new york housing authority, so he knows a little bit about new york and building

is going to be our point person and he's going to be working with the mayor, the governor, the borough presidents, the county officials to make sure that we come up with a strong, effective plan and then i'll be working with the members of congresso do everything we can to get the resources needed to rebuild. and i have every confidence that sean is going to be doing a great job and people should feel some confidence about that. let me just close by saying this. i had the opportunity to give some hugs and communicate thoughts and prayers to the moore family. they lost two young sons during the course of this tragedy. and obviously, i expressed to them as a father, as a parent, my heart break over what they

went through. and they're still obviously a little shell shocked. but they came here in part because they wanted to say thank you to all of the people supportive of them. they in particular mentioned lieutenant kevin gallagher of the nypd who when they knew that their sons were missing, lieutenant gallagher made a point of staying and doing everything he could so that ultimately they knew what had happened with their boys and able to recover their bodies and has been with them as a source of support ever since. that's not in the job description of lieutenant gallagher. he did that because that's what so many of our first responders do. they go above and beyond the call of duty to respond to people in need. and so i want to give a shout

out to lieutenant gallagher and point out the moors even in their grief asked me to mention lieutenant gallagher and that says something about them, as well. and that spirit and sense of togetherness and looking out for one another, that's what's going to carry us through the tragedy. it is not going to be easy. there's still believe it or not complaints over the next several months. not everybody's going to be satisfied. i have to tell you the insurance companies and some of the other private sector folks who are involved in this, we need you to show some heart and some spirit and helping people rebuild, as well. but when i hear the story of the moors and i hear about lieutenant gallagher, that's what makes me confident we'll be able to rebuild. all right? i'm very proud of you, new york. you guys are tough. you bounce back. just as america always bounces back. the same is going to be true this time out. all right? thank you very much, everybody.

>> all right. president barack obama there on staten island. the second visit to the region after superstorm sandy reiter e reiterating that the federal government will be there in the complete rebuilding of this region devastated by that storm. there he is with the governor of new york and also homeland security chief janet napolitano and senators chuck schumer also there as well as the new york city mayor michael bloomberg. you heard the president there also talking about poignant moment with the moore family and many people recall their two sons swept away and he talked about what's been a very emotional visit to the staten island area, but also a kind of reaffirms that resolve that the federal government will be there as best it can in the rebuilding process. our victor blackwell is there, also, in staten island outside of recovery center. so victor, give me an idea what the reception has been like for the president's second now

visit, the first post-re-election there to staten island. >> reporter: well, i think the president today said what the people in the community wanted to hear. not just that he would come today and give hugs and kind words as he mentioned but the support they need to rebuild here in staten island and highlighted to come back and the federal government would support this community in the rebuilding but that's very expensive. and people here know that. the governor andrew cuomo asked for or in the process of asking for $30 billion to rebuild the homes and rebuild the infrastructure and improve some of the things lacking after superstorm sandy. right now, the fema fund is only at about $12 billion and considering the financial cliff that's coming, the fiscal cliff that's coming, the financial crisis, that's going to take some work on capitol hill to get $30 billion for new york if it's approved and then consider maryland and new jersey and connecticut and on up the coast.

the people here know it takes a lot of time and money and hope there's the support not only from the president but from places like this, like this salvation army here on mid land avenue where they have been handing out water and food and supplies for 17 days now. since the storm. they tell us that they have supported 5,000 people at this location alone and people have been coming nonstop. and again, this is 17 days after the storm. a lot of these people lost everything and they hope the president and the governor and mayor bloomberg and the delegations who showed up understand that it's going to take time and support. >> victor blackwell, thank you so much from staten island. appreciate that. major stories including crisis developing overseas aziz real and militants in gaza step up attacks against each yoer. plus, at any minute now u.s. attorney general eric holder officially announcing a record fine against bp to settle

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at any moment now attorney general eric holder is expected to announce that bp agreed to a fine to settle criminal charges for the involvement in the worst oil spill in history. he'll be making that announcement from that place right there on the right of the screen in new orleans. number of his staff members have already walked in to the room. this explosion on bp's oil rig in the gulf of mexico as you recall killed 11 people in april of 2010. millions of barrels of oil got dumped in to the gulf of mexico. devastating the environment there. tourism costing many people their jobs, as well. cnn's ed lavandera saw the devastation firsthand when he covered the story. ed, as, of course, we wait eric holder's arrival, i'll let you proceed and may have to

interrupt you as soon as he is to enter the room. so, what kind of reaction is there from this $4 billion planned settlement? >> reporter: well, i think a lot of people in the gulf coast region trying to figure out what all of this means and the money will be parcelled out. >> all right. sorry about that, ed. you have to hold that thought there. here's u.s. attorney general eric holder. >> i'm honored to join with associate attorney general tony west, assistant attorney general for the criminal division of the justice department lanny brewer, director robert casami of the security and exchange division, john beretta, head of the de deepwater horizon and achieving justice for those whose lives and livelihoods were impacted by the largest environmental disaster in the history of the united states. and to hold accountable -- hold

accountable those who for responsibility for this tragedy. today, in the united states district court here in the eastern district of louisiana in new orleans the department filed a 14-count information charging bp with 11 counts of felony manslaughter. one count of felony obstruction of justice. and violations of the clean water and mike are tori bird treaty acts in connection with the oil spill that began in april of 2010. bp has agreed to plead guilty to all 14 criminal charges. including responsibility for the deaths of 11 people and the events that led to an unprecedented environmental catastrophe. the company agreed to pay $4 billion in fines and in penalties. this marks both the largest

single criminal fine, more than $1.25 billion. and the largest total criminal resolution $4 billion in the history of the united states. it stands as a testament to the hard work of countless investigators, attorneys, support staff members and other persons from the deepwater horizon task force and a range of federal, state and local agencies who have worked tirelessly to advance a complex and wide ranging investigation that began even before the oil well was capped. and it constitutes a major environmental toward achievement of fulfilling a promise that i made here in new orleans along with my colleagues, nearly two years ago, to engage with our partners and counterparts to determine the cause of the disaster, to respond to its consequences, to seek justice on behalf of the victims and to enable gulf residents to continue to recover and to rebuild.

to this end, under the terms of the agreement that we announce today, about $2.4 billion of the criminal recovery funds will be dedicated to environmental restoration, preservation and conservation efforts throughout this region including barrier island creation and river diversion projects right here in louisiana. additional $350 million will aid in the development of state of the art oil spill prevention and response technologies, education, research and training. and more than $1 billion will go to the united states cost guard's oil spill liability trust fund to be available for clean-up and compensation for those affected by oil spills in the gulf and throughout the united states. now, as part of its guilty plea, bp will retain a monitor for four years who will oversee safety, risk management and equipment maintenance in

relation to deepwater drilling in the gulf and an independent auditor who will conduct annual reviews to ensure compliance with the terms of this agreement. the company will also hire an ethics monitor to improve its conduct and to foster robust cooperation with the government. now, there can be no question that this historic announcement represents a critical step forward and really underscores the justice department's determination to stand with gulf coast communities. in february, the same commitment led to the department to reach a partial settlement with mo-x offshore related to the company's liability for the deepwater horizon disaster and approximately $45 million of this total will go directly again to the gulf in the form of penalties for expedited environmental projects. but our work is far from over. in the trips that my colleagues

and that i have made to the gulf coast since the deepwater horizon spill we have seen the damage to lives and businesses as well as coastal areas and wetlands that this tragedy has inflicted. we understand the tremendous costs, both economic and environmental, that have been associated with this disaster. and we've inspired by the resilience displayed by each and every gulf coast resident when's been affected. >> attorney general eric holder there in new orleans announcing the goal here to achieve justice and to, quote, hold accountable bp now facing 11 counts of felony manslaughter officially, obstruction of justice among other charges. all of this leading to this tragedy leading to the deaths of 11 people and causing what eric holder called an environmental catastrophe. our ed lavandera is there on the gulf coast. you covered this extensively

when it happened in 2010 and a chance to hear eric holder there. he says in addition to these charges, it also means that bp will continue to do business there in the gulf but with a monitor. explain more on that. >> reporter: well, there were two monitors, process monitor and an ethics monitor that will essentially i guess be the eyes and ears of the federal government as bp continues to operate. they're also under a five-year probation with this settlement announcement. so as they continue to operate, which i guess in some people wondered if they might be allowed to continue to operate here in the united states. but obviously, that heavy of a fine or a penalty has not been issued. they'll allowed to continue to do business here in the united states but this does not mean that this is the end of this story for bp. just before this press conference started, fredericka, i wanted to mention that this is by no means the end of the lawsuits and the financial fines

that bp faces. there are still fines having to do with the clean water act. if you remember back in the oil spill, there was a huge squabble over just how much oil and at what rate the oil was spilling in to the gulf of mexico. and that is because the basis for the clean water act fines will be based on the amount of oil that spilled in to the gulf and bp is saying that there is -- they're still setting aside money and expect liabilities here in the future and expect a billions of dollars in fines for that and other lawsuits and settlements making the way through the court system in the gulf coast and by no means is all of this over. you know, getting a chance to really start getting the reaction of people very critical of bp over the years, some people say this is a welcomed news lbeit taken t long and other people think it's not cme soon enough and getting an idea of how it will be used, then

that begins to answer a lot of questions people remain. remember, there's the effects of this oil spill felt dramatically in the gulf coast and just on a barrier island in louisiana during hurricane isaac and we saw the tar balls watching up. on rident calleitd b balls washing in >> tha much. $4 billion settlement coming from bp. all right. developi rit now, overseas, fes of war as attacks escalate between israel and militants in gaza. we'll take you there live next. copd makes it hard to breathe,

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rockets and shelling chris crossing the sky and anxiety grows that the worst is yet to come in israel and gaza. the conflict of hamas and israel is moving fast and getting bloodier. today's death toll, 18. three israelis killed in rocket strikes from gaza.

while an aide worker reported 15 people, palestinians, rather, were killed by israeli strikes. and this, many believe, was the tipping point. an israeli air strike yesterday ended up killing nine people including the young child of the target. ahmed jabari. he was a founder and military leader of hamas in that vehicle you saw exploded. the group that controls gaza's government. hamas, that is. today, palestinians carried his body through the streets on the way to his funeral and as they mourn israeli forces are giving the play by play of their offensive on the israeli defense forces website reporting the spot under attack are hamas missile launch sites and israel is not just taking out the launchers. its teams are detonating rockets in the air. take a look.

>> israel says it's responding to what's been calling the raining of bombs by hamas on israeli areas that border gaza. >> no government would tolerate a situation where nearly a fifth of its people live under a constant barrage of rockets and missile fire. and israel will not tolerate this situation. this is why my government is instructed the israeli defense forces to conduct surgical strikes against the terrorist infrastructure in gaza. >> cnn's sara sidner is live for us in gaza city. we are hearing report that is a rocket hit tel aviv. is that right? >> reporter: well, look. we are hearing the same thing. but that has not been confirmed. however, we did hear even a chant from a mosque saying god

is great, god is great, we ve hit tel aviv. no confirmation it fell in the city. there was talk it perhaps fell in the sea. at we do know is that there have been more than 200 rockets that sailed over from hamas in to israel killing three people and here in gaza there have been a mass of air strikes. they have continued well in to the night. we have been here sincearly this morning an seen at least a dozen hits, plus. plus tonight, six more huge blasts. you can feel it rumbling and then you see the telltale black smoke from the buildings or whatever the target, whatever target that israel would manage to hit. this is all a reaction to actually something that happened last thursday when 13-year-old boy was shot and killed. witnesses here in gaza say he was killed by israeli soldiers, perhaps by stray bullets of jeep. israel investigating that but

saying that they do not believe they were responsible but they're still looking in to it. then, we know that there was an anti-tank missile fired from a militant group here in hamas in to a military jeep on the israeli side of the border injuring four soldiers. that popped off a back and forth between israel and then the militant groups here including hamas sending rockets in to israel. as that started, as you might imagine, there's concern by civilians on both sides of the border. on the israeli side, people have been told to take shelter. mere, there are very few people on the street. this is a densely populated place. we are seeing very few people coming out in the daytime and most of the businesses shut. >> all right. thanks so much for your reporting. so israel says it has targeted more than 200 terrorist sites in gaza. the israeli defense forces said, quote, we recommend that no hamas operatives whether low level or senior leaders, show

their faces above ground in the days ahead. end quote. the warnings for civilians. israel has air dropped leaflets warning people to stay away from hamas operatives. let's bring in jim clancy of cnn international covering the middle east since the mid-'80s. jim, let's talk about who's getting support here. is hamas seeing some reports of some sort support for their firing or is it israel? >> hamas is getting moral support if you will primarily from egypt. hamas is considered to be the muslim brotherhood of the palestinians and president morsi of egypt has been stepping in trying to assert. he withdrew his ambassador. not a huge move but trying to lend moral support. they're condemning the israeli actions calling for calm. now there's some talk about them canceling the camp david accords, revisiting that. forget that.

at the end of the day, as much criticism as the egypts get from the americans and the israelis, they may end up being the ones to negotiate a broker's truce in this whole deal because they do hold sway with hamas. >> is it clear how long this is going on? israel will say -- >> absolutely, 50 years. >> well, and a very large umbrella kind of sense. but recently, you know, we are talking about israel saying they were bombarded in recent weeks. hamas says they're being bombarded in recent days. which is it? >> typical tit for tat. it has a life of its own and it could spread to a much wider region, much wider effects on the diplomatic and political events of the middle east that after all is in a very fragile state. you have the u.s. trying to judge its relationships with countries like egypt, post-arab spring. what kind of a relationship should they have? the israelis argue they can't be considered your friends. >> how the region responds is

going to be very important here. >> well, look at how bhezbollah aching for a fight. constantly attacking israel, at least verbally. they have held the fire here and remember trying to shore up bashar al assad. iran. they have a 30-year investment in hezbollah and the foothold in the region. if assad goes, they lose it all. >> difficult to see the end game her usual. >> it's very difficult and everybody's judged on how well to manage the conflict and watch particularly hezbollah. do they fire something to distract away from israel? they and the rebels finally agreed on something. criticize israel, condemn israel. >> jim clancy, thanks so much. >> all right. all right. hundreds of people are taking to the streets violently protesting the high price of gas but their demands may not stop there.

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angered by a surge in gas prices and government corruption, demonstrators in amman, jordan, burn tires and battle riot police. police responded with teargas and water cannons, fury over gas prices now around $4.25 a gallon. maybe escalating in to cries for democracy. demonstrators did something very rare. hurling insults at king abdullah. some even burned photos of the king. insulting the king is illegal and can result in a prison sentence. arwa damon joins us. is the arab spring movement taking hold now in jordan? >> reporter: well, it certainly

is manifesting itself in a fairly different manner. it's important to point out that demonstrations began in jordan back in december of 2010 and the demonstrators then calling for economic reforms for an end to corruption and whilst the tiny nation is not gripped by the tide of arab spring, demonstrations have been spo sporadic for two years but none of them as severe as what we have been seeing over the last few days and now more jordanians are telling us think eve never been more concerned about the future of their country. as you mentioned, a rare thing to hear in jordan, the calls for the downfall of the king. we heard them in the past by the minority, a very small group of people calling for such an extreme measure. they remain in the minority but that voice, that call most certainly is growing louder. the government for its part says that it had to raise these fuel and gas prices. just to give you an idea, the

cost of one canister of cooking gas went from being just over $9 to $14. but the government's saying it had to do that because of the massive budget deficit but people are blaming government corruption and mismanagement of funds and that's why they're so enraged. because they believe that they're paying the price for the government's mistakes, fredericka. >> all right. arwa day non, thanks so much in amman, jordan. a warning for tho that drink this. the e erri possibly being linked to 13 deaths over the course of 4 years. details on where the investigation stands next. ♪ hi dad. many years from now, when the subaru is theirs... hey. you missed a spot. ...i'll look back on this day and laugh. . it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

if you're driing those 5-hour energy drinks, you should know the fda is now investigating 13 deaths reported as adverse events after drinking the supplements. it is not known whether they caused the deaths. the company has responded to the reports saying it's, quote, unaware of any deaths caused by the consumption of 5-hour

energy. end quote. astronaut rich clifford had been on two missions in to space when he was diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease. dr. sanjay gupta says that didn't stop him from flying again. >> reporter: for most of us, this view is the closest we'll ever get to outer space. but it's this view that astronaut rich clifford had three times. >> and liftoff. >> reporter: when he blasted in to space in 1992, on "every dever" in 1994 and "atlantis" in 1996. as he flew the last shuttle mission on the way to the space station, clifford was carrying a secret. he had recently been diagnosed with parkinson's disease. >> i didn't really have any symptoms than the right arm didn't swing naturally when i walked. >> reporter: he had a clean bill of health but telling the doctor that his arm affecting the racquet ball game, he was is

toent a neurologist. >> he said you have parkinson's disease. >> reporter: his bosses at nasa asked him what he wanted to did. >> i said i want to fly again. >> reporter: doctors cleared him and nine months later, clifford was heading back in to space aboard "atlantis." the crew and walking and my left arm is swinging and the right arm is staying there. it didn't interfere with my job. >> reporter: only the shuttle commander knew. >> i was certified for flight and that was good enough for them. >> over 650 miles per hour. >> reporter: with that flight came a once in a lifetime opportunity. >> left head is moving along here, rich. >> reporter: a six-hour space walk. >> it was fantastic. definitely fantastic. space walk is a privilege and something that every astronaut searches for. >> reporter: for years the stiffness in the arm was his only symptom and then three years ago the trembling began and then head bobbling. the neurologist tried to convince him to go public with

the story many times and last year 17 years after being diagnosed, he finally did. >> i got diagnosed with parkinson's when i was 42 years old. >> reporter: now he travels raising awareness about the disease and says it helps to talk about it. >> i encourage people to not let it get you down. live life to the fullest. you have to keep focused on what it is you want to do in life and proceed down that path. yeah. nothing should hold you back. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. >> be sure to watch sanjay gupta md on saturdays, 4:30 p.m. eastern time and sunday's 7:30 a.m. eastern time. all right. right now, lawmakers behind closed doors are shown video of inside the benghazi consulate. that's next. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

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on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase. u.s. lawmakers are getting an inside look at the terror attack on the u.s. benghazi, libya. the house and senate intelligence committees are holding hearings that are not open to the public. congressional correspondent dana bash is staking out the senate intelligence committee after spending the morning outside the house hearing. dana, lawmakers are being shown video of inside the benghazi compound. what more do we know? >> at that point, that's about it. except for the fact there's high level members of the intelligence community and the state department behind closed

doors. you can see a lot of hubbub here. this is the senate side. we have the acting director of the fbi, the director of national intelligence and so on and played according to our susan kelly, a closed-circuit video of the compound that was attacked in benghazi which officials are hoping to clear the air or clear up why they had their initial reporting that this was a spontaneous demonstration that started the attack, the deadly attack on benghazi. we'll wait to hear from the chairman and ranking republican and speaking public in a little more than an hour. >> and soda that, i also understand that some republicans are asking for a special committee to further investigate. anything new on that? >> reporter: very interesting. nothing new in terms of whether that will actually happen. in fact, looks more and more like it is not going to happen because these republicans meaning john mccain and others don't have the support of some of their high ranking republicans like the house speaker. never mind the democrats.

but what cnn's ted barrett has learned is that john mccain in particular missed a rather important closed door briefing giving information about what happened in benghazi and what he was doing at the time is having a press conference calling for this select committee complaining about not getting enough information and ted barrett learned he was not alone. very few republicans, most of the republicans on this, the homeland security committee actually came. since then, mccain's office told us that that was a scheduling error and why he didn't attend that briefing. but also, before we got that information, ted actually bumped in to john mccain in the hallway here and they had a very testy exchange when ted was trying to get information about why he didn't go and mccain said to him that he had no comment. ted said, why? i'm quoting here from senator mccain. i have the right as a senator to have no comment and who the hell are you to tell me i can or not.

and went on from there and told by the office it was a scheduling error and shows you how testies and intense the feelings are here on this particular issue. >> testy a good word and some others including a democrat of new york who were very critical of lindsey graham as well as john mccain saying that there was money that was requested way back when to intensify security at some of the installations and they, some republicans were among those who denied that request and so that republican saying that they need to be looking in the mirror as to what may have gone wrong in benghazi. >> reporter: right. i mean, there's certainly a lot of finger pointing going on here and in some ways, look, for somebody like john mccain, for example, he has bee on a rampe about this from the beginning because it is personal for him. he was a good friend of ambassador chris stevens who were killed but also a lot of i

think fair to say political baggage that's left over, particularly between john mccain and the president back -- going back to 2008. >> dana bash, thanks so much on the hill. appreciate it. controversial comments now from mitt romney on why he thinks he lost the election. now other republicans are criticizing romney's claims. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years, we've been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. and the next great idea could be yours. ♪

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rethink possible. top of the hour now. i'm fredericka whitfield. fears of all-out war as rockets and shells chris cross the skies. the conflict between hamas and israel is bloodier. today's death toll, 18. three israelis kill ed in rocke

strikes. and this many believe was the tipping point. israeli air strike yesterday killing nine people including the young child of the target, ahmed al jabari. he was a founder and military leader of hamas. he was in the vehicle. the group that controls gaza's government, hamas, that is. today palestinians carried his body through the streets on the way to his funeral. as they mourn, israeli forces are giving the play by play of the offensive on the israeli defensive forces rather website. it reports the spots under attack are hamas missell launch sites and israel is not just taking out the launchers. its teams december nating rockets in the air. watch.

israel says it's responding to what's been called the raining of bombs by hamas on israeli areas that border gaza. >> no government would tolerate a situation where nearly a gift of its people live under a constant barrage of rockets and missile fire and israel will not tolerate the situation. this is why my government is instructed the israeli defense forces to conduct surgical strikes against the terrorist infrastructure in gaza. >> let's go live now to fred pleitgin. paint the picture of what's been happening there. >> reporter: i'm in a town that's one of the towns that's repeatedly been targeted by missile strikes coming from gaza. they have one of the missile interception systems and the israeli defense forces have said that they have intercepted at

least 80 rockets coming out of gaza in the past days alone. not just around here but other places, as well. one place where the three people was killed is 11 miles northeast of here and what's going on here is the air strikes by the israeli military ongoing, in gaza and barrage of rockets out of gaza is ongoing, as well. certainly the israeli military saying it will not let up and in fact says that it has the capables, the means and the will to even expand the operation which in the short term probably means more air strikes on targets in gaza, especially those missile launch sites and possibly also in the future and israelis deliberately not taken it off the table and possibly a ground operation in gaza. fredericka? >> fred, thanks so much for that update. joining it seems to me an ireporter waking up to the sounds of rockets. adel raymer is a teacher who

lives in a small community in israel on the border with gaza. so adel, what have you been experiencing? >> well, we have been experiencing sporadic rockets fire. sometimes more often than others. this morning, last night it was at a psychopathic rate. this evening so far it's been less often but the thing is we don't -- what we get here, we're so close. we are less than 2 i can almost fehrs away from the border which means that they have the short range mortars that they shoot at us and there's no warning for that. the only warning you get is the explosion. in fact, when i was talking to janelle earlier, as i was talking to her, there was an explosion in the background and she heard it. it's been -- you know, it's crazy. nobody should have to live this way. >> janelle, being our booker here on the show.

how long has this been carrying on? how long have you felt you and your neighbors have been under attack or dodging these strikes? >> well, it's been along the past eight years that, you know, we have had the shooting but it's only, i don't know, the past year or so, like it gets -- the breaks between shootings just gets shorter and shorter and lately it's been literally every day, numerous times a day. all around -- all around the gaza environs. >> kind of without explanation to escalate, quiet down? >> yeah, yeah. >> so, are you in agreement -- >> a morning sometime and see it's a foggy morning and think, oh, this is a good morning for them to be able to start shooting. you know? >> so, are you in agreement with the israel handling this, that it is launching attacks against

what it believing to be the missile launch sites of hamas? >> look. i'm not a politician. i'm a teacher. i just live here. i want to get on with my life. and i know that most of the people, i'm sure that most of the people that live on the other side of the fence want to get on with their lives, as well. so i mean, what the politicians do, there's not -- i just want to find peace. you know? just want to be able to go out and walk my dogs in the morning or in the evening and not have to worry this i'm going to have to run and duck and hide because i'm being shot at. >> with no firing on either side. >> i have to trust my government to be doing what they need to do in order to protect me. >> adele, thank you so much for your time. all the best and good luck. vy ucd ifybody i'sd reading about it, we have a facebook group that i started about a year ago that depicts life on the border.

it's called life on the border with gaza and it's apolitical and just about people here in the area on facebook writing about what it's like to live here. and people abroad reading about it because it's in english. your listeners more than welcome to check that out and see what it's really about. >> thank you so much. looks like we pulled up the homepage of that site right there. all right. israel says it's targeted more than 200 terrorist sites and defense forces have launched a campaign to tell people in gaza and israel to get out of harm's way. it's tweeted for operatives to stay underground, sent leaflets warning civilians and issued this video message. >> despite the fact that hamas operates from civilian areas, the idf consistently taken measures to minimize casual is to innocent bystanders placing phone calls and leaflets

intended to alert civilian bystanders. deploying weapons systems to enable pinpoint accuracy to minimize come lat real damage. delaying ground and aerial trike strikes in populated areas or canceling them when damage to civilians is likely. >> joining me right now, bobby goesch, an editor at large for "time" magazine who's reported extensively on the middle east. good to see you. what do you make of how social media is playing in to this rising or escalating conflict now between israel and hamas? we know it's been going on for years but something has reignited it within recent days if not weeks. >> well, yes. social media is doing two things. it is giving people around the world an almost ringside seat in to this particular clash in a way that they haven't seen before so this is -- this is very different in that respect and also allowing the two sides,

the idf and hamas almost to talk to each other almost in realtime while the fighting's going on. of course, when i say talk to each other, this takes the form of taunting and cursing at each other and it's almost -- it's very primal and primitive that way. this is how man fought battles hundreds of years ago. you looked the enemy in the eye and you yelled curses and insults at each other while trying to kill each other and strangely this post-modern technology of social media is bringing us back in some ways to that place. >> and given the arse do you fe what could grow in to a regional conflict? >> well, that would depend on whether there's a ground offense and hamas responds. what happens next? in the past, whenever there's been a skirmish or a full-scale battle of this nature, at the back of everyone's mind was the knowledge that there was a peace

process. that eventually when saner minds prevailed or people ran out of bullets that they could return to a peace process. there is no peace process now and there hasn't been one for several years so when the wise council prevails, when somebody runs out of ammunition, where do they go next? there's the great uncertainty that makes this different. >> this conflict goes back generations but what is it about why now? israel felt compelled to assassinate the hamas military leader and carry on with these attacks. >> well, you don't assassinate a military leader of hamas, somebody who spends big part of their life hiding from such an air strike. you don't assassinate them just on the spur of the moment. that part of the operation clearly something a long time in the planning. track him, they had to know where he was and where he would

be at any point. that's probably in the works weeks, months, years maybe. the immediate provocation israel says is the escalation in rocket attacks from gaza in to israel and i was hearing in my earpiece the woman you were speaking to, adele, i think. the rate of rocket fire seems to have gone up. this seems to be the precipitative event of this point. >> bobby ghosh, thanks so much with "time" magazine. appreciate your time. >> any time. this information just in. u.s. attorney general eric holder answering a question about the investigation involving the former cia director david petraeus and whether it impacted national security. joe johns joining us live now from washington with more on this. joe? >> reporter: hey, fred. for the first time, the attorney general eric holder answering questions about this case that david petraeus case. the central question here in washington, d.c. has been why the justice department failed to

or chose not to alert people on capitol hill. that they were investigating an alleged extramarital affair that could end up and did bring down the top man at the cia. the attorney general's answer to that question, it wasn't a matter of national security. listen. >> well, i will say that with regard to that issue what we did was conduct the investigation the way we normally conduct criminal investigations. we do so in a way that -- so they can be seen as being done in an impartial way. we follow the tacts. we do not share outside the justice department, outside the fbi the facts of ongoing investigations. we made the determination as we were going through the matter that there was not a threat to national security. had we made the determination that a threat to national security existed, we would, of

course, have made that known to the president and also to the appropriate members on the hill. but as we went through the investigation, looked at the facts and tried to examine them as they develop, we were very -- we felt very secure in the knowledge that a national security threat did not exist that warranted the sharing of that information with the white house or with the hill. but when we got to a point in the investigation it was very late in the investigation after a very critical interview occurred on the friday before we made that disclosure and got to that point where we thought it was appropriate to share the information we did so. >> reporter: so again, eric holder explaining why he didn't tell the congress, why he didn't tell the president about this investigation of david petraeus. it was not a national security

threat. by the way this had been going on months and months. probably started back in the spring, fred. the other thing we need to say and you probably said it before on this program, petraeus is expected to testify on capitol hill tomorrow to the intelligence committees of the house and senate. he is expecting to just talk about benghazi. we're told he doesn't want to talk about this affair. it will be behind closed doors. my bet is he might get a question or two about the rest. >> yeah. something tells me he gets a question about both those matters. all right. joe johns in washington, thanks so much. all right. still ahead, president barack obama meeting with sandy victims. patience runs out in the northeast. we are learning of charges against a couple of bp employees now over the gulf oil spill. they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries.

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new details today in the oil rig disaster that cost oil giant bp billions. attorney general eric holder

announced last hour that two bp officials are each charged with 22 counts of manslaughter, a third official charged with obstruction of justice in connection with the worst oil spill in history and the punishment doesn't stop there. bp will pay a record $4.5 billion fine to settle criminal charges. an explosion on bp's oil rig in the gulf of mexico killed 11 people in april of 2010. millions of barrels of oil poured in to the gulf of mexico, devastating the environment, tourism and costing many people their jobs. ed lavandera joins me now from the florida gulf coast. ed, what is next in this case? >> reporter: well, there are still a vast number of lawsuits that are still pending and potential fines that bp still faces so by no means is this announcement today of this $4.5 billion settlement bp's made with the federal government really the end of the road but this also includes an almost

$1.3 billion criminal fine which is the largest as you mentioned ever levied here in the united states. also, almost little more than $2.3 billion to go toward the restoration and the environmental research that will be needed in the gulf. remember, there are a lot of people on the gulf coast who still say we're still seeing the effects and haven't fully understood the effects of the oil spill and what it's done to marine life. in the gulf waters so a lot of that still being researched and still being dealt with dramatically and a $525 million fine to setting with the s.e.c. there are criminal charges that the company has pled guilty to as well as three employees that now face criminal charges including manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter and withholdi ining information of investigators and a thing bp has to do is deal with officers that will be put in the company to deal with ethics and process

issues and they'll be under probation for the next five years so a lot of their exploration and the way they do business according to this justice department settlement will be under heavy scrutiny for several more years. >> all right. ed lavandera, thanks so much from st. petersburg. all right. it is his second visit to the region. president obama touring the devastation left in sandy's wake. he met with the victims along staten island. far rockaway and breezy point. >> i came up here right after the storm, was on the jersey side, and i promised to everybody that i was speaking on behalf of the country when i said we are going to be here until the rebuilding is complete. and i meant it. so i'm going to come back today but i'm also going to be coming back in the future to make sure that we have followed through on

that commitment. >> his visit may not have impacted the 4,500 people still without power. their anger directed at the power companies for failing to prepare for and respond to sandy. >> we're not in a third world country. i'm on long island. my taxes are sky high. i pay so much money each month to lipa. >> long island power company is now the target of a class-action suit and its chief operating officer is stepping down. both lipa and con ed subpoenaed over their sluggish response to the storm. all right. less than three hours from now 18,000 people could hear that they're out of a job. that's unless the maker of twinkies pulls back on the threat. g the company's bottom line, their very first word was... [ to the tune of "lullaby and good night" ] ♪ af-lac ♪ aflac [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com.

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twinkies on the brink. we recognize the junk food. sponge cakes with three little holes in the bottom with the white filling inside. well, hostess that makes them and ding dongs and zingers and

chocolate cupcakes is threatening to shut down unless 5,000 striking workers return to their jobs by 5:00 p.m. eastern today. less than two hours away from the deadline. alison kosik in new york at the new york stock exchange so aren't there more than 5,000 jobs at stake at hostess? >> the bakers are striking and make up 30% of the workforce. don't forget about the retail bake bakeries, driving the delivery trucks and warehouses but if the bakers don't cross the picket line by 5:00 p.m. eastern time, they say they'll close the doors and doesn't have the money to survive a strike. the bakers went on strike last week. but hostess is trying to force pay cuts and they're pushing against that. they're in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings. they said the cuts were outrageous but if they

liquidate, forget about the diminished pay but what they would do is close all 33 plants, laying off all 18,000 workers. >> oh my goodness. so any chance that some other company could step in and buy hostess at the last minute? >> that's a possibility. if italy we dates, it would sell off everything it can to pay off the debt. yeah, twinkies, wonder bread, could be picked up at auction and they did try to find a buyer before going bankrupt in january. didn't get bites then but an auction could bring someone in because, you know, that name, all about the value of that name. it's aiconic brand and started in 130 and most people remember a twinkie every now and then. >> of course. >> it could live on. we'll see. >> i cannot imagine a day without a hostess process on the shelf or in a vending machine. seems un-earn. thanks so much.

appreciate that. all right. sex and finance scandals in the u.s. military. defense secretary panetta had enough. more on his order of an ethic review and what some are calling a culture of courting generals. next. [ forsythe ] we don't just come up here for the view up in alaska. it's the cleanest, clearest water. we find the best, sweetest crab for red lobster that we can find. [ male announcer ] hurry in to red lobster's crabfest! the only time of year you can savor 5 succulent crab entrees, all under 20 dollars. like a half-pound of tender snow crab

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a little less imperfect. call... and lock in your rate for 12 months. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? a review of ethics training for generals has been ordered by u.s. defense secretary leon panetta coming in the wake of the sex scandal that led david petraeus to resign as director of the cia. barbara starr joins us from the pentagon. not just petraeus but other cases that i guess have precipitated panetta's response. right? >> reporter: absolutely, fredericka. of course, general john allen, the commander in afghanistan under review, investigation for sending potentially inappropriate e-mails, two other four-stars just went through investigations for

irregularities in the travel and expense accounts. a number of lesser if there's such a thing of generals and admirals also in recent months under investigation for variety of things, so panetta's issued an order saying that he wants the joint chiefs of staffs to look at ethic training for senior nil tear leaders. what are we talking about here? basically, you know, don't cheat on your wife. don't cheat on your taxes. don't go get too drunk in public. you know? and don't cheat on your expense account. you think it's the blinding flash of the obvious, wouldn't you? but we have talked to a number of officials say panetta is just very aware of the public perception right now and he wants to make a case to the senior leadership and to the american public that the pentagon's taking this seriously. that they're trying to do something about it. but really, fred, you know, this is something all senior leaders should already know. >> yeah. and then there are now i guess concerns about the relationships

between military bases and civilians who get kind of vip status. >> reporter: right. >> what's that all about? >> reporter: this is generating, again, public concern, public interest since the matter of julie kelley, the other, other woman in tampa, florida, came to light. so, you know, these parties, the socialites, is this appropriate for senior military leaders to be around these kinds of people? let me sort something out for everybody. military bases around the country, they have very legitimate, very extensive community relations programs. there are jobs involved. housing. schools. churches. shopping. you know? there's all the regular community relation stuff. environmental concerns. so communities know that their military bases are good neighbors. all of that is the regular course of doing business. the concern in the kelley matter is was somebody trading on their access to these generals for their own personal gain

potentially? that's where this goes wrong. >> all right. barbara starr, thanks so much. >> reporter: sure. another popular energy drink under investigation. this time, 5-hour energy. the fda looking in to more than a dozen deaths linked and dozens more hospitalized. more on the 5-hour energy invest coming up. a desktop in zurich... and a telepresence room in brazil. the secure cloud helped us get some numbers from my assistant's pc in new york. and before i reached the top, the board meeting became a congrats we sold the company party. wait til my wife's phone hears about this. [ cellphone vibrating ] [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center, working together has never worked so well. ♪ ♪ ♪

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all right. if you're drinking one of those 5-hour energy drinks, you should know the fda is investigating 13 deaths reported as adverse events after drinking the dietary supplements. it is not yet known whether the energy shots caused the deaths. the company has responded to the report saying it's, quote, unaware of any deaths proven to be caused by the consumption of 5-hour energy. end quote. there's a deadly epidemic in the u.s. right now that you may not know about. prescription drug overdoses. killing more people than car crashes. that's just one of the startling statistics dr. sanjay gupta uncovered while investigating his new documentary, "deadly dose." >> fred, i had noticed certainly an increase in number of pills being doled out in hospitals but it's a call of former president

clinton that got my attention. he told me about two of his friends who had both lost sons within a few days of each other accidental deaths due to prescription drug overdose and said someone dies like this 19 minutes in this country and decided to shine a big bright light on this and listened to president clinton, as well. listen to what he said, as well. this may be a statistic you know. i was surprised by it. 80% of the world's pain prescriptions are in this country. 80%. does that surprise you? >> i didn't know that. no! because -- >> reporter: is that a cultural problem? >> yes. it is cultural. people think, oh, i have a headache or this or my elbow's sore or whatever. look. i don't want to minimize. there are a lot of people who live courageous lives in constant pain. they're in pain all the time. for reasons they can't control. they need relief and they should get it. but there's no question that since we represent 5% of the

world's people and far less than 80% of the world's people with above average incomes, we got no business popping as many pills as we do. >> people have a preconceived notion of who these people are who are dying but often times families, friends, neighbors. not people you think of as addicts. people have legitimate pain this need the pain concerns addressed but we consume 80%, again, of the world's pain pills in this country. do you really need to get that pain pill when you're at the doctor's office? don't misuse the pills or ever take them with alcohol and could kill you. that's a message that needs to be said and finally go to the medicine cabinet. get rid of pills that you may have sitting around. you yourself might take them, your kids might take them. that can be a problem. back the you. >> all right. thanks so much. the new documentary "deadly dose" airs this sunday night 8:00 p.m. eastern time. all right. they're often right there in the middle of violence. photo journalists risking their lives for gripping images of the

front lines. this man has done it for years and now an hbo documentary is turning the camera on him and others. that's next. jen's car wasn't handling well.

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they're witnesses to war. the men and women who risk their lives to capture and reveal the truth about the deadliest wars across the globe. now the camera's being turned on them in a new hbo documentary which airs on mondays through november. war photographers like aros hoglan are profiled. instead of running away from gun fire in surz, mexico, he runs toward it. taking groundbreaking pictures. he's joining me now from san diego. good to see you. you've been doing this for years. you have been in conflict zones from iraq to afghanistan, mexico. so tell us about your experience in juarez that you feel many

people wouldn't necessarily know about. many people read about it but this is a place you have dared to go and photograph. >> yeah. thank you for having me. i think the main thing to take away from juarez is the amount of violence and killing was so extreme that everybody in the city and the surrounding areas is affected by it. you just everywhere you go, you meet someone that's been affected directly by the violence. and state corruption. and the drug industry. it's just tremendous. >> and tremendous, too, is the risk that you take and other photographers take in order to get some of these images. you do this at what cost? you have to establish relationships for some of these subjects. right? >> yeah, certainly you have to establish relationships but on the other hand you have to be careful of getting too close, as well. >> and how do you do that? >> time on the ground. you just have to meet people and

move slowly and talk to people. that's the most -- that's the first step in our profession. you have to put yourself out there and engage with people and get a lay of the land and try to understand exactly what the situation is that particular day. because it's very fluid. >> so is there a way in which to convey how long it takes to establish that relationship with people who generally do not want to be photographed before you're able to pull out your camera and get the images or even kind of setting conditions with some of the subjects so that, say, in the instance of the image right now that the face is covered up? are there kind of deals set with some of those subjects saying i don't want my identity revealed but i don't mind you getting close enough to see what i do? >> right. more and more these days people are very leary of their picture being taken of their identity being published, especially with the internet when even can see

it around the world almost immediately. you have to come up with an agreement. where, okay, i won't show your face or whatever it may be. other times people are -- people are kind of oblivious to that worry or threat. and then you also have to kind of renegotiate with yourself, am i willing to expose this person? they don't seem to be concerned but you might believe that it's a danger to them and they don't even know it. you're constantly balancing how much, you know, you're going to show and in terms of establishing that rap port sometimes it happens instantly or goes over the course of several days, several weeks. >> aros, thanks so much. documentary is "witness." part of a series of hbo on monday nights in the month of november. i'm sure in a lot of cases you don't tell your family where you're going until after you've returned from that assignment because i imagine they worry all

the time about you. thanks so much for your time. >> you're very welcome. thank you. >> okay. president obama and president abraham lincoln together at the white house? well, kind of. president obama's hosting the screening of "lincoln" tonight and some historians aren't too thrilled about what's in that movie that's coming up next. but first -- imagine being separated from your family for a year. for more than 100 soldiers from the d.c. national guard and army reserves, that's how long it's been since they have been home. and we were there for their reunion. >> aah! >> i'm happy. >> oh my god! >> all right. how you doing? >> hi. >> good to see you. welcome home. >> been in america again, it's

like everything you always dreamed of. >> a bunch of mountains, a bunch of rocks. i'm happy to be back and see grass. >> welcome back, man. glad to see you, man. love you, boy. >> likewise. >> yeah. >> love you guys. >> carried this around me every day. she gave it to me to remind me of what i got back at home and make sure i get back safe. you know? >> welcome home! welcome home! >> thank you. >> hey, man. welcome home! >> welcome back 273rd. >> daddy loves you.

>> yes. i love it. it feels good. it feels very good. to know that people miss you as much as you miss them. [ male announcer ] when it comes to the financial obstacles

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all right. we're hearing that there are new signs of wiggle room and possible compromise for fiscal cliff negotiations. hours ago a group of moderate house democrats made a big push for some bipartisan bonding. >> we also need to look at inflated or ineffective programs. every program has to be evaluated, has to be scrutinized. we're also not going to just cut our way out of this hole. >> every day that we wait costs america another $11 billion. >> the new democratic coalition sent a letter to the president and congressional leaders urging immediate bipartisanship. congress and the white house have to cut a deal before january 1st otherwise massive tax hikes and spending cuts kick in. a leading republican says the gop may be willing to bend a little more. >> yesterday the president said he had an open mind when it came

to finding a solution to these things. he said he's happy to listen to other people's ideas. i take that as a good sign. if the president's got an open mind, maybe he'll see that republicans are the ones who've expressed a willingness to step out of our comfort zone if it actually leads to a solution. >> mcconnell suggested republicans might be willing to consider increasing revenues if democrats cut spending and reign-in entitlement programs. here's a presidential perk that you might not have heard of. sneak previews? president obama will be screening the new steven spielberg movie "lincoln" at the white house this afternoon. he'll be joined by the cast and crew. the movie's set to release tomorrow follows our 16th president abraham lincoln in the waning days of the civil war. but some critics are saying hollywood and history aren't on the same page. cnn entertainment correspondent kareen wynter has more. >> this fight is for the united

states of america. >> reporter: steven spielberg's "lincoln" offers a window back in time to the weeks preceding the end of the civil war and passage of the 13th amendment abolishing slavery. >> congress must never declare equal those god created unequal. >> reporter: for some critics the movie's limited snapshot of aim han lincoln's presidency paints an incomplete picture of history. >> as cinema, it's very, very good. as history, i'm a historian, it leaves something to be desired. >> reporter: his book won the pulitzer prize for history says the film's narrow focus exaggerates the president's role in ending slavery. >> this settles the fate for all coming time. >> the emancipation of the slaves is a long complicated historical process. it's not the work of one man no matter how great he was. >> blood's been spilled to afford is this moment now, now,

now. >> it was not lincoln who originated the 13th amendment. it was the abolitionist movement. it's only in the 1864 that lincoln changes his mind. >> reporter: screen writer based the movie script in part on the best selling book "team of rivals." >> we were enormously accurate, steven and i both cared a lot. we worked with doris. we worked with a couple other lincoln historians. what we're describing absolutely happened. >> it's not a question of being wrong. it's just inadequate. it gives you the impression that the ratification of the 13th amendment is the end of slavery. slavery is already dying at that moment. >> reporter: in fact he says if the 13th amendment had not passed in january 1865, lincoln had pledged to call congress into special session in march. >> and there the republicans had a two-thirds majority and would ratify in a minute. it is not this giant crisis in the sense that the film is portraying it. >> shall we stop this bleeding?

>> reporter: one aspect of the film that's not being questioned is daniel day-lewis masterful depiction of the president. >> the most important thing was to get lincoln done right. >> daniel day-lewis represents a plausible lincoln. i recommend people see it and then read a book about lincoln. >> reporter: lincoln the movie is not a documentary and a full understanding of history doesn't happen in two hours and 29 minutes. kareen wynter, cnn, hollywood. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. citi price rewind. buy now. save later. citi price rewind. social security are just numbers thinkin a budget.d...

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trainer who matches veterans with man's best friend. so give me an idea how gratifying is it to pair up these dogs with veterans? >> oh, it's unbelievably gratifying. it's an amazing journey working with them, matching the dogs, seeing them train together, learn to be a team, get back out there, navigate life, create their new normal and find joy back in their life and do things we take for granted. there's no words to describe how gratifying it is. >> and how has being selected top ten cnn hero kind of built upon your organization? how has it enhanced it? >> it's been an amazing journey. the only word i can keep saying is, wow. pinch me, is this real? the positive publicity, the awareness to the issue which is really for me what the cnn hero award is about is bringing awareness that our men and women

are coming home facing challenges that they haven't faced in the past or been recognized for facing in the past. and we need to be there to help them. >> tell me about these healing powers that these dogs seem to have with the vets. >> you know, the healing powers have to do with the canine-human bond. the ability of the canine to sense the changes that occur within our emotions and our chemistry and our moods and however you want to describe it and react to it because of their basic natural instincts is what we tap into. and it's one of the things that helps them get back out in the real world. >> mary cortani, thanks so much. congratulations on being one of our top ten hon rees becoming the cnn hero of the year potentially